


The Man's Heart (Thor x asgardian!Reader)

by DomesticatedTendencies



Series: A Queen Protects Her King [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asgardian Reader (Marvel), Awkward Tension, Declarations Of Love, Dialogue Heavy, Domestic Avengers, Endearments, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Heavy Angst, Hurt Thor (Marvel), Hurts So Good, Jane Foster Loves Science, King Thor (Marvel), Making Up, Marvel Norse Lore, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Past Jane Foster/Thor, Post-Break Up, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Pregnancy, Reader-Insert, References to Norse Religion & Lore, The End, Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-17 16:36:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18102329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DomesticatedTendencies/pseuds/DomesticatedTendencies
Summary: It was amazing that the table did not break beneath Thor's mighty fists when he brought them down hard upon the glass. Your head bowed, you flinched at the long scrape of his chair as he shoved away from the table, the vicious bite of his words still stinging as he stormed from the room.“Please allow me to apologize for my husband,” You said softly, the words tasting like treason on your tongue for to apologize for the king was to admit he had fault. “I’m afraid he’s been under a great deal of stress lately.”“It’s okay,” Natasha assured you, long lethal fingers giving your forearm a gentle squeeze. “We get it.”*******Formerly posted in part as "The Final Chapter". Now updated and complete!!!





	The Man's Heart (Thor x asgardian!Reader)

**Author's Note:**

> First I just have to say thank you to everyone who has reached out and offered their support. It truly humbles and amazes me. After all the love and feedback I was able to go back and finish this story properly. It is not how I originally intended and if you read "The Final Chapter" which I have since taken down, this is not the way I said it would end. In my opinion it's better and I hope you feel the same. 
> 
> Thank you so much! <3

Silence. Absolute and perfect silence. That was what you discovered in Tony Starks elevator after an afternoon of earthly tourism. Whatever dark emotions had been stirred by Jane Fosters residency in the tower, Thor had pushed them to the wayside when he declared that if your time on Midgard were to be limited than it was not to be wasted.

There was so much to see and to do, and so many people to do it with. At first it was all so overwhelming. It was all too much. On the boulevard outside of Avengers Tower you thought for sure you would be swallowed by the throngs of people. But like everything else, Thor went head first into the fray and this time he took you with him.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was lovely. The building architecture alone was enough to grant you a familiar comfort and the art of course was wonderful. Thor very much enjoyed the Arms and Armor exhibit while your tastes leaned towards European sculpture but it was what you discovered outside the museum that made the entire journey to Midgard worth it. And so you returned to the tower feeling as though you had a new perspective not only on life, but on earth as well.

“The chocolate raspberry,” You sighed, biting your lip as though in fond memory as your head lazed dreamily to the side.

Thor arched a brow, clearly amused. “I thought you said the mint chip was your favorite.”

“Oh, I did so enjoy mint chip but the chocolate raspberry! Honestly, I don’t think there could be anything better!” All propriety lost, you did not even care that your gluttony was the topic of conversation. “Do you know if Loki has had ice cream before?”

His perplexity was evident in the wrinkle of his brow. “I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

“It could explain why he keeps trying to take over Midgard.”

His hearty laugh, which you loved so dearly, echoed off the walls of the enclosed space causing you to giggle right along with him. You were both still laughing as the elevator doors slid open to the common rooms that the residence of the tower shared.

“Indeed, it is a sound theory and definitely one worth exploring,” Thor agreed.

“What’s worth exploring?” Sam Wilson questioned from the massive couch were he, Captain Rogers, and Bucky Barnes were watching the giant animated canvas that you knew now to be a television.

You had not encountered any of the Avengers since your introductions earlier in the morning but now as preparations for their evening meal were made, they all seemed to occupy the space.

“M’lady has some brilliant thoughts on my brother’s thirst for power.”

Captain Roger’s head snapped to attention. “Loki’s not here, is he?”

“Worry not, he is safely occupied on Asgard.” His hand on the small of your back, Thor gave you a knowing wink before turning his attention to the large screen. “What’s the score?”

“Seven zip. Green Bay’s ball,” Wilson answered.

“Fantastic.”

“Dinner’s in five, guys,” Natasha Romanov spoke up from the clean and shining kitchen. “FRIDAY let the boys in the lab know.”

“Yes Agent Romanov,” The disembodied lilt answered.  
  
For a moment you simply watched the femme fatale. She moved with such sure and feminine grace that after seven months of pregnancy and an afternoon of overindulgence you were left feeling slightly envious. It was as though she danced to a music you were not worthy enough to hear. Like watching a mystic perform a divine ritual, you felt as though you were witnessing something special. Something sacred and truly beautiful.

“Might I be of some help, Lady Natasha?” You asked, venturing away from your husband on your own volition for the first time since your arrival.

“I’m afraid there’s not much for you to help with, Your Majesty. It’s just takeout.”

“Please, I would much prefer to be addressed by name.”

You attempted a smile as green eyes flicked in your direction for no more than a second.

“Whatever you say.”

Looking over your shoulder, you found the men to be thoroughly absorbed in their sport and decided on a different approach.

“I must say, After hearing such wonderful things about you that I was rather looking forward to making your acquaintance.”

With her back to you, she was busy removing more than a dozen paper boxes from flimsy sacks. “More of Thor’s war stories?”

“Oh no, though he too holds you in the highest regard. However I was speaking of Bruce Banner.”

She turned on you, dark lashes over catlike eyes. “Bruce?”

You gave a ready nod. “During his stay on Asgard I spent much time in Banner’s company listening to his reflection on your friendship. I’m embarrassed to admit that I became rather invested in it myself. I had hoped to discover whether you reconciled your feelings for one other.”

“Really?”

There was a lot of skepticism packed in that simple word but you were ready with another agreeable nod. Natasha leveled you with another one of her cool appraising stares. She was working the angles. Determining whether or not there was any validity to what you said. Her decision made, the right corner of her mouth turned up just so.

“There’s plates in that cabinet above your shoulder. There should be eight of us tonight.”

Beaming, you opened the aforesaid cabinet and took down a stack of plates. “Shall I set the table then?”

Natasha opened a drawer and retrieved a handful of cutlery. “It doesn’t have to be anything fancy with these heathens.”

You gladly set to work. The glass table was plenty large enough to accommodate the size party Natasha predicted. You placed a plate, a fork, and a spoon at eight out of the dozen chairs before returning to the kitchen for drinking glasses. On your return you caught Thor’s eye who gave you an approving nod and your cheeks warmed under his attention.

The table set, you began helping Natasha set the containers of food in the middle of the table. Everything smelled absolutely amazing and unlike anything on Asgard. Despite having just eaten, your stomach rumbled loudly in anticipation and you put a hand to your belly as though to stifle the sound.

“When’s the baby due?” Natasha asked candidly.

“Oh!” Embarrassed, you bit your lip. “Not for another couple months.”

Her smile was knowing as she handed you yet another open container. “Final stretch.”

“Yes,” You agreed.

“Make sure you try the dim sum before the boys get to it. Rogers may play at being the gentleman but he’s a pig.”

“I heard that,” The Captain spoke up from in front of the television.

“It’s not classified information,” Natasha retorted. “Now turn the TV off. It’s time for dinner.”

“Come on Nat, there’s only two minutes left in this quarter,” Wilson argued though he still climbed to his feet.

“No ‘come on Nat’. Two minutes means it will take twenty,” Natasha sat herself down. “FRIDAY set the game to record and try Tony again. Tell him if he’s not down here in two minutes I’m coming after him. I promised Pepper I’d make sure he ate at least one meal a day away from the lab while she was gone.”

“Yes Agent Romanov.”

Thor appeared at your side and pulled out a chair, inviting you to sit. Claiming the seat to your left for himself, Natasha occupied the place to your immediate right. Not even your royal guard could have made you feel more secure.

Everyone helped themselves. Containers were passed back and forth, one exchanged for another. Without a word, your king served you explaining each offering as he ladled your plate with food. Natasha nudged your elbow, holding out to you a half full carton of what appeared to be dumplings. You understood this to be the dim sum she spoke of and graciously accepted two on your already heaping plate.

Behind you, the elevator doors slid open.

“Really Natalia, using my own AI to threaten me with physical violence?”

“There was no threat,” Natasha’s tone was beautifully afflicted with boredom.

“It was implied.”

You watched Tony Stark in silent curiosity. He made his way around the table and selected a seat between Natasha and Sam Wilson, leaving an empty place setting on either side of himself. The curvature of the table granted you the perfect view as he made a great show of checking the cleanliness of his silverware before unfolding his napkin and draping it across his lap.

“What, no salt and pepper shrimp?”

With the tip of the wooden sticks she was eating with, Natasha pushed a carton in his direction. “Make sure you get some greens too.”

“Yes mummy dearest,” He said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes before catching your stare. “Well, if it isn’t our dear Westley and his Princess Buttercup.”

“Tony,” Thor greeted, a look of amusement on his handsome face.

“I would have sent a wedding gift, but what does one buy a demigod? I’ll just assume my invitation got lost in the interstellar mail. ”

Your husband smirked. “It is a most unreliable system.”

“Where’s Bruce?” Natasha asked without looking up from her plate.

Tony gave a flippant shrug. “Maybe I’m not the one you should be threatening with bodily harm for being late to the dinner table. Damn it Freezer Burn, for once in your life can you be quiet? Honestly, can’t get a word in edgewise with you.”

Bucky Barnes, who sat between Steve and Sam and had not uttered a single word in your presence that you were aware of, snapped to attention. With his mouth full of noodles, at first he appeared gob smacked but that look was quickly replaced with one of hostile antipathy. Cold grey eyes narrowed beneath a heavy brow and the cords in his neck flexed with his hard swallow.

“So uh, ma’am,” Darting wary glances at his friend, Steve seemed keen to divert attention. “How was your first day on earth?”

“Oh!” Wide eyed you looked to Thor who gave a nod of encouragement. “It was lovely, thank you Captain Rogers.”

The good captain smiled. “Call me Steve.”

“We attended The Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Thor added, his massive hand lovingly upon your thigh beneath the table. “And tomorrow we plan to visit the New York Aquarium.”

“How very touristy of you,” Stark quipped though no one paid him any mind.

“That’s out on Coney Island now, right?” Steve commented, glancing longways once more to Barnes who had returned to his meal. “Buck and I used to take the train out there every summer. There was this one time,” He paused to chuckle but never got the opportunity to finish his memory as the elevator chimed once more and a flurry of commotion took over the room.

“Sorry! Sorry we’re late. My experiment…” Stopping to study the device she carried with her, Jane Foster trailed off for a moment before shaking her head and thrusting the thing into the ready hands of her dark haired companion. “Ran long. Is there room for two more?”

There was a split second where nobody said anything. They simply stared. There was more than enough room at the table and surely there was plenty of food despite the hearty appetites of those already seated but you found yourself shamefully wishing someone would say something to the contrary.

“Sure, why not?” Tony said finally. “The more the merrier, right?”

“You’ll have to get your own plates,” Natasha added. “We weren’t expecting you.”

“You weren’t?” Jane asked, looking frazzled and unsure.

“Maybe because no one has ever seen you outside the lab,” Tony hypothesized.

Jane wasn’t listening though, her focus instead on the man sitting at your side.

“Thor,” She breathed his name like a secret, one that immediately brought a smile to her lips.

“Jane,” He greeted, his tone neutral.

Dropping his crumpled napkin on the table your husband rose chivalrously from his chair, leaving you suddenly desperate for diversion. You looked to the wall, to the food set in the middle of the table, to Natasha at your side, to your plate set before you, anywhere other than to the brilliant Jane Foster.

There was a clatter as Jane’s friend dropped her various wares on the counter. “Sorry,” She apologized loudly as she began opening cabinets in search of the dishes.  
  
“Your hair’s different,” Jane observed as though oblivious to the other occupants of the room, adding quickly. “I like it! It’s a good look. You’re uh, it – _you_ look good.”

“I thank you.”

Pulling out a chair for herself, she claimed the empty seat to his left. “I stopped by your room earlier.”

Thor looked down upon your bowed head. “So I had heard.”

“I was hoping we could talk.”

“Oh, this ought to be good,” You heard Stark say and glanced up in time to catch Natasha shooting him a warning look.

Still standing and with his hand on the back of your seat, you heard the gentle rumble of your husband clearing his throat above you. Having located the plates, Jane’s friend returned from the kitchen. Quickly, Thor stepped away to offer her the available seat beside Jane as any man of his upbringing should.

“There you are Darcy,” He said, a friendly smile upon his face.

“Hey, thanks big guy! Long time, no see.” Putting a plate in front of Jane, the young woman sat.

Returning to his seat, Thor exchanged with you a small pained look and as uncomfortable as you were, you felt sorry for him. A man of his status and stature should never appear as though he wished to shrink.

“ _Min kjære_ , I see you enjoyed the sesame chicken,” His tone gentle, he was already reaching for the carton. ”Would you care for some more?”

You offered him a saccharine smile. “Thank you.”

There was a shine to Stark’s eye not wholly unlike Loki’s as the billionaire sat back from the table. “Say Jane, have you had the pleasure of meeting… I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

Your heart pounding, you dabbed delicately at your mouth with the corner of your napkin. Natasha gave Tony another look, reminding him of your name but Jane was already speaking over her.

“Oh, we’ve met!” She answered eagerly. “A few years ago when Thor took me to Asgard with the Aether. I met Odin and Frigga and Heimdall. Cherry was there of course!”

There was another moment of awkward silence broken surprisingly by the unfamiliar voice of Bucky Barnes.

“Who the hell is Cherry?”

Stark issued a mock gasp. “Who said that?”

Across the table, Barnes gave an exasperated roll of the eyes.

The muscle in Thor’s jaw beneath his ear twitched as he turned to Jane.

“Do you mean _kjære_?” He asked, taking great care over the accent and syllables.

Jane leaned forward in her seat so that she looked past Thor and directly at you, her eyes wide and earnest in their naivety. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to butcher your name.”

“It is not her name, Jane. It’s an endearment.” The sharpness in your husband’s voice caused you to wince. “ _Min kjære_  is the same as calling her my sweetheart.”

Jane’s eyes went wider if that was even possible. Her mouth slightly agape she blinked first at him and then to you as though for confirmation. Your fork still in hand, you looked at the remains of your dinner, your appetite gone.

“I-I don’t understand,” She sputtered. “Why would you call your maid y-your sweetheart?”

“My maid?” Thor blustered. “What the hell would have you think she were my maid?”

Lifting your chin, you met Jane’s confused stare and though you could feel the heat of embarrassment blooming in your cheeks, you were not mad or even offended because in that moment you thought you understood. It was a simple enough mistake to make. When you had first been introduced on Asgard, had you not been a lady in waiting to the Queen? And when Jane had come seeking Thor before had you not worn your plainest of gowns while making his bed? What reason would she have then, to think you anything other than the kings maid?

“Because I was,” You answered for her with all the grace and kindness you could muster. “Lady Jane is not mistaken in remembering that when last we saw each other on Asgard I was in the service of your mother.”

His features tight, there was no mistaking the anger in his eyes when Thor turned on you. “You are the Queen of Asgard, my wife and mother to my heir, not a _fucking_ maid.”

It was amazing that the table did not break beneath his fists when he brought them down hard upon the glass. Your head bowed, you flinched at the long scrape of his chair as he shoved away from the table, the vicious bite of his words still stinging as he stormed from the room.

“Please allow me to apologize for my husband,” You said softly, the words tasting like treason on your tongue for to apologize for the king was to admit he had fault. “I’m afraid he’s been under a great deal of stress lately.”

“It’s okay,” Natasha assured you, long lethal fingers giving your forearm a gentle squeeze. “We get it.”

Your breath shaking, for a moment you were unsure of what to do next. Across the table Sam Wilson wondered out loud if they might be able catch the end of the second quarter. You had no idea what that meant nor did you care. Pushing back from the table, you made to excuse yourself when Jane spoke up.

“Y-you’re married?” There was no hiding the crack in her voice.

“We are,” You told her and then because you truly meant it. “I am sorry, Jane.”

Rising slowly to your feet, you watched as the poor girls eyes bulged over your swollen form. Your belly stretched before you a testament of your marriage and Jane choked back a small whimper. Just like the babe that kicked in your womb, you could not deny the stricken look on her face. Tears shimmered in her eyes and you knew then that her feelings for your husband were exactly as you had feared before. She still loved him.

“I’m sorry,” You echoed before fleeing the room.

It was by the Norns’ favor that you found your way back to Thor’s chambers, managing only two wrong turns before seeking FRIDAY’s guidance. You almost knocked on the closed door before realizing that to be silly. Allowing yourself in, you found Thor pacing before the wall of windows.

“Normally I would consider you a benevolent king,” You railed at him as soon as the door closed behind you. “How could you be so cruel?”

“Forgive me, I know I should not have spoken such profanity in your presence.”

“To hell with your profanity, Thor! It’s not my forgiveness you should seek.” One hand braced against the low chest of drawers, you cradled your stomach with the other as you glared at your husband. “Jane Foster’s heart breaks for you and yet you would have her be humiliated before your friends.”

For half a breath he appeared to be taken aback and then he scoffed bitterly. “Don’t be so easily fooled. Jane’s heart bleeds for no man save science unless it means her own personal gain.”

“She loves you,” You argued.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” The god thundered.

The silence to follow was deafening as you stood with half the room separating you. Your breath coming in short little pants you could see Thor’s own chest heave beneath his shirt, his bottom lip working as though to form words. Dragging his eyes up to yours, for a moment they held before he shook his head.

“She doesn’t love me. She never did. At least not in a way with any true sentiment,” He insisted, his voice intimately low. “It’s true that I wanted her but she didn’t want me. The moon and the stars and all the planets in all the galaxies – that is all Jane has ever truly desired. I could have given it to her too, only she didn’t want me.”

Blinking, a pair of tears rolled down your flushed cheeks. The torment in his eyes and sincerity in his voice. Your heart ached for him so deeply that it made your knees weak and your chin tremble.

“Can you understand now? It is not about my ego. I was just a means to what she wanted and nothing more.”

“Aye, I know,” You breathed, your head dipping before looking up to match the heartbreak in his eyes with your own. “I’m afraid I know exactly how that feels.”

The furrow between his brow deepened before giving away to his shock and then he rushed to you in half a dozen quick strides, taking you by the arms as you tried to push him away.

“No. No, _min kjære_ , that’s not what this is!”

“Isn’t it? Am I not a means for you? A vessel meant to carry your heir and guarantee your successor?” You were somewhere between laughter and tears as you attempted to back away from him and instead ended up pressed into the dresser. “And do you want to know the most foolish part of it? Do you?!” You demanded shrilly as you swatted his hand away.

“I too know what it is to want someone. To love them and not have your affections returned. All those years I spent watching, knowing you from afar and I nothing but a maid. You called it self respect that I never put myself before you when really I would have if only I had known how! But I knew I had nothing to offer you just as I have nothing to offer you now!”

“Your love!” Snatching your hand he forced it upon the place where his heart beat steadiest. “It is true that Jane’s refusal hurt me perhaps more than it should but maid or not, your love is the only thing I have ever truly needed. I see that now.”

Push as you might against his chest, he would not budge.

“Please,” You whimpered, not wanting to hear any more.

“Do you think it an accident that I chose you, hmm? Do you think I would simply leave a thing like this to chance? I told you that first night we lay together how I had come to settle on you but it was only half truths. The real reason is I knew our union to be fated by the Norns.”

Disbelieving, you stopped struggling and took a shuttering breath. “How?”

“The Water of Sights,” He answered, his free hand beneath your chin so that you had no other choice than to look up at him. “After Hela I visited their reflection again and there I had visions of you. I knew we would wed and that you would bear our children. I saw you as clear as I see you now, a hundred years in the future with your head upon my chest and your hair mussed from sleep. I saw us ruling Asgard and growing old together; our children and their children and their children’s children carrying on our legacy for millennia to come. It is why I did not press you in those early days of our union. I knew you would come to accept me in your bed. I knew you would love me on your own.”

Your lips parted, you pressed them together and swallowed, tears still blurring your vision.

“You asked me why I apologized at our handfasting? It was because I knew then what this first year would bring us. I knew the pain and the worry you would have to endure at my hand. I may not have understood it entirely, but I do now and I know the toll it has taken on you. I would give anything to take it back but all I can do is tell you how sorry I am and that I do love you. You – my mother’s maid. My Queen. The only one I shall ever call ‘ _wife_ ’. Tell me, _min kjære_. Please tell me you can see that much? That you are the only one who could ever truly possess my heart.”

A hard sob escaped you as you sagged against his chest. His arms were around you in an instant, his fingers twining in your loose hair as his lips pressed against your crown.

“My sweetheart, my love,” He murmured over and over again. “Please do not cry. Your tears wound me deeper than any blade on the battlefield.”

Sniffling, you swiped at your eyes with the back of your hand. “Are you not the same man who told me never to hold back for the day you cannot outmaneuver a maiden you deserve the bite of her blade?”

With an amused snort, Thor cupped your cheek. “I am.”

“Then you reap what you sow,” You hiccupped.

“I see,” He smiled fondly, his thumb caressing just beneath your lower lashes. “Tell me then, despite your tears does this mean you’ll still have me?”

Your head tilted back in just the way you had become accustom, you studied his face. The silver flecks intermingled in the gold of his beard. The scar that cut through his lid, down across his right cheek. His mismatched eyes that offered an entire realm of depths unknown. His lips, so hard and yet completely pliable – quick to smile and even quicker to laugh yet capable of speaking hard truths.

Would you still have him?

“Yes, Your Majesty.”


End file.
